Sound Walk notes by Noah

  As we make our way down the hallway, the first thing I notice is the shuffling of our feet. The sound shifts from a collective shuffle to more distinguished and individual sounds as I listen closer. I hear the squishing of a foot slipping in and out of a sandle as the person in front of me moves towards the doorway. The keys at my side shake and jingle in rhythm with our footsteps. As we enter the stairwell, the shuffling echoes and the soft brushing noise of hands touching walls becomes more present. We wait patiently at the bottom of the stairs. You can hear the hum of the pipes and the clanking of
construction behind the door.

  Finally, the door swings open and the sound quality shifts from the reverberant stairwell to the openness of the outdoors. you can hear the different qualities of engines of various car types humming by. Quietly underneath the noises of the traffic, you can hear the protected high pitch voices of children playing. The swinging carraige of a truck carrying a heavy load of cargo overcomes the other traffic. We continue walking and I am able to zoom in on the distinctive noise of a man scratching a piece of paper against his stubble. A couple holding hands walks by and I am unable to get the full context of their conversation, but recognizable words pierce through. "high school" "senior" This is the first time during the walk I have heard dialogue and it sounds strange against the bed of noise I had become attuned to.

  We transition from one zone of sound to another with the familiar screeching call of grackels. Their screech is met with another, a squealing electric guitar riff. We enter the cafeteria and my senses immediately pick out familiar noises. Silverware clanking, cart wheels rolling against the floor, register opening, the beep of the scanner. These signature sounds are produced in a familiar rhythm that lets me know the tone of the space.

 We find another entrance to the building through a parking garage. I hear the chirping of a cricket and the distant muffled voices of two men in discussion. I can't see either of these things, but I hear them. We travel back up the stairwell and towards the classroom. The last sound I hear is the bubbling and hiss of the water fountain.

  I felt one of the most interesting things about the soundwalk was the performance of us listening in public. I think it was evident that we weren't just going for a walk. Especially when we were inside of the cafeteria space. This act made our collective presence feel almost voyeuristic and I wonder how others perceived our presence. Would the addition of a "listen" stamp might cause other folks to stop and listen or perceive what we were doing differently?

I also found the different zones of sound on campus to be interesting. We talked in class about a sound artist that found the frequency for different cities. Could this be applied to different areas of campus? Although, the amount of continual construction on our campus may throw the idea of different zones off.